The Oilers will have their pregame skate in Edmonton this morning, and then fly to Winnipeg this afternoon to take on the Jets. That would never happen in the regular season, but that's life in the preseason.

For many of the veterans it is another opportunity to sharpen their skills, while those on the bubble hope to impress Dallas Eakins, and for some it is likely their final preseason game.

After Saturday's split-squad games vs. the Flames the Oilers have had a few days to try and learn Eakins new systems. It will take a few games before every player is completely comfortable with the new system, so expect a few defensive breakdowns.

When you look down tonight's roster it seems easy to pick who falls into the category of veteran sharpening his skill, bubble boys and guys destined for reassignment.

LINEUP

Gagner, Jones, Yakupov, Smid, Petry, Grebeshkov and LaBarbera are safe bets to be on the team.

Lander, Joensuu, Omark, Hamilton, Arcobello and Larsen are in battle for a roster spot up front or on the backend.

Martindale, Abney, Bachman, Pitlick and Davidson will be heading to OKC eventually.

It looks like Klefbom will start the season in OKC, which will allow him to get comfortable to the North American game, and I won't be surprised if his recalled at some point this season.

Moroz will be heading back to junior, likely on Wednesday, and get set for the Oil Kings season opener this coming Friday.

Joensuu, Hamilton and Arcobello had strong first games, but playing well early in preseason isn't as important as playing well late when the rosters are filled with more NHL caliber players. They will need to build on their strong start to stay ahead of the pack.

Omark, Lander and Larsen were okay in their debuts, but a strong performance tonight could put them right back on track. Tonight is Pitlick's first opportunity to impress the coaches, and he feels he is ready to take a serious run at a roster spot. Davidson has impressed early in camp, but he'll need some more seasoning in the AHL before he's ready for a regular

Tonight's game will be streamed live on the Oilers website at 6 p.m. MST.

JETS LINEUP...

Tonight's lineup will come from this group of forwards and D-men. It sounds like the top three lines and top four D-men will dress, and then the 4th line and final D pairing will be decided at the morning skate. When I get confirmation I will edit the lineup to the usual 18 skaters.

DALLAS THE DOER

Yesterday on my radio show, Ryan Jones talked about gaining confidence, trying to get back to his style of play and the impact Eakins has had on the organization.

Jason Gregor: It’s pre-season and I’m not sure if there are any studies that say that if you score in the pre-season, it carries over but it’s always good to score for a guy like you. Does it build confidence when you get a goal early in the pre-season?

Ryan Jones: It has to. Even if you score in shinny hockey or in practise you get a little bit more confidence. So it has to. You know what, that goal just reiterates what I have to do to be a successful player.

I’ve said all along that I’m trying to get back to the way that I was playing a couple of years ago which made me successful and that’s exactly what I did in the exhibition game; just be a pain in the ass. Sorry, can I say that? Be a pain in the butt [laughs], get to the front of the net because there are so many guys throughout this line-up who are so good with the puck and there is no sense in me, once I can get in there. Bang a body, get the puck on their stick, it’s useless for me to crowd those guys.

So to get in front of the net, to crowd that net area, to allow them to have a little bit of space, to allow them to bring it to the net is the most ideal thing that I can do. Especially when I’m playing with [David] Perron. Once I got in, I made a hit and the puck goes to him there’s no sense in following that guy around. He’s skilled enough to make plays and get it into the net so I just made it a point to put my butt in the goalie’s face and try to make as much havoc as I could. We had a tonne of grade ‘A’ scoring chances out of me doing it.

Gregor: Do the goalies look smaller with the smaller pads? Have you noticed it at all?

Jones: It’s funny because when we were skating in Minnesota and Josh Harding wore them, I thought that he looked tiny. When he put his pads together and stood in the net, it just looked like there was so much open net. Other than that one time, I haven’t really noticed.

You know what? They all look gigantic in there. It seems like every time I come down to shoot there are very little openings but like I said, that’s not my game. Usually they’re on their back or their sides or their knees when I’m chipping pucks in so they pretty much all look the same for me.

Gregor: Dallas Eakins has come in and made some subtle things; the locker room is different, the pictures are down, he has a big focus on nutrition, he’s a real task master on wanting the guys to be in shape. Did this team need a real culture change and have you noticed it from your head coach?

Jones: I have noticed it. You want to know what, there are doers and talkers and we’ve unfortunately had a lot of people who were great talkers. And I mean even to you guys, they answered all of the questions the right way but it seemed like it was never different in the room compared to when I came here all of the way through last year.

Yeah we got a little bit better, we got younger, we got more skilled, but even in the locker room with the guys there were a lot of guys who seemed to talk the right game but nothing ever seemed to get done.

I haven’t heard Dallas say very many words outside of what you guys ask him, but he just does everything. He shows us in this locker room what he wants to be done by example. He wants something done, he goes out there, he shows us, we do it. And he demands that out of us. That’s what this locker room needs. He’s going to demand everything out of everybody and Dallas, as far as I can tell, is exactly that guy. From what I’ve heard, and briefly seen, he’s a player’s coach, he’s demanding and his accountability is second to none.

Gregor: He talked earlier about how he likes longer practices and he likes to push guys. What did you think about the practice?

Jones: [Laughs] They are fairly long, but you know what, they’re detailed and you’re not just out there wasting time. You’re never out there just doing a shooting drill to do a shooting drill. Everything that we did out there on the ice today was a team game, some sort of aspect of what we’re going to need to do to win and be a successful team. At the end we got to do a shoot a puck but everything else was a backcheck or a forecheck or faceoffs. There’s no wasted time when you’re out there and that’s good because it keeps you on your toes and it keeps your mind in every single practice, that’s what we need. We can’t have any guys sleeping at any point in time.

PARTING SHOTS....

Jones' comments on Eakins being a doer, and not just a talker spoke volumes. I think we'd all agree that for the past few seasons we've heard a lot of talk, but we never saw the action match the words.

Eakins has shown he isn't afraid to make changes. Will changing the paint and decor of a room make the Oilers play better on the ice, unlikely, but it illustrates that Eakins won't be sticking with the status quo. Yesterday's practice was uptempo the entire time, and it will be interesting to watch how they practice throughout the year.

I've written on many occasions the past few years how different the Oilers practices were compared to other teams. Chicago and Detroit had quicker paced practices, especially their puck drills.

He wants to change the culture in his dressing room, and he will make his players more accountable on the ice. He's outlined a new workout routine that he expects the players to follow. He's given them an outline for what he expects on practice days, as well as game days.

Some players won't be impacted by the changes, because many of them had pre-skate work out routines as well as post-game routines, but it will be different for some. It is no longer optional.

ESPN ranked the top-50 D-men in the NHL and J.Schultz was the only Oiler to crack the list at #40. I was surprised to see Ekman-Larsson and McDonagh ahead of Pietrangelo, albeit only a few spots, but overall I'd agree with most of the rankings. Your thoughts? Schultz is ranked a bit high, if you go off last seasons numbers, but I suspect they added his potential when ranking him. His overall game will be much better this year compared to last season.

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

Here we go again! The oil barely beat the lames in one of two split squad games. Arguably against the absolute worst team and franchise as far as depth goes in the entire league :( Now they are getting pumped by the Jets!! I think we are spinning tires but going in reverse! Season prediction... Lotto pick, again! I have been right on all my predictions made based of the lack lustre preseason performance the last three years. Enough said.

Strictly going off some of Joenssu's comments and video of him fighting in NY when a teammate got hammered, I think he would drop the mitts if necessary. I would guess the Oilers coaching staff had the no-fight order on last weekend. There were numerous times the Flames fighters challenged Oilers and no response. I would assume Eakins wants the players to make the team on the merit of their ability to play hockey. Fighting to make the squad, like WHL open tryouts years ago, doesn't seem to be Eakin's thing.

Jackman was picking on Nurse all game in Edmonton. Would love to see Nurse tune him in 4-5 years from now if Jackman still has a career, hopefully in Calgary.

Brown challenged Jackman early in the second period and he declined, besides Widemans hit and Halls hit on McGratton it wasn't a very physical game.

yeah I wonder how long we'll start to really see results of Eakins' coaching style (systems,work-out regime, etc.)? And if the team improves, will the primary reason be Eakins or player improvement/maturity?

I like what you said about players buying in and I totally agree. I just hope we don't have to wait until the new year to see actual results.

BTW do you like Hall at centre? I don't but am happy to be proven wrong.

I would like to think that MacT and Eakins were hired to bring some continuity and stability to the team. No more of the "insane running the asylum" If one of the top 5 or 6 didn't buy in, they would be gone in a heartbeat to fill some of the holes.

I would like to think that too. Here is to hoping that this year will be better than the last seven.
It is the time of year to sell hope. The team said the same thing the last three coaches. This is the guy to turn things around. I love the Oilers but I'm tired of getting smoke blown up my butt every fall. Obviously some people are not tired of it yet.

I never said the players aren't buying in. Of course it is way too early to tell. What I said was "Unless the players buy in Eakinis will be gone in short order also. "

Short order to me would be next summer .Like the last three coaches. They were going to make everything better too .Remember?

So you think they would trade Hall or Nuge or Yak before getting rid of Eakins."Get your head out of the sand."

Hall, Nuge, or Yak will buy in. They're franchise players, not only extremely skilled but great attitudes and work ethics as well. Players like Seguin, who don't get with the program, do get traded. No player is more important than the team.

Btw, my head can't be in the sand, I'm too busy pounding back my kool-aid.

I don't mean to be rude or insulting but you're retarded if you think Eakins will be gone next summer.

What do you base that on? The record of the last three coaches?

Once again for the people that can't comprehend I said "UNLESS". I hope Eakins is the best coach in the history of the game and wins five Cups here. The team's recent record with coaches suggest otherwise. Every team sells hope this time of year.After the last seven years I will hold off on calling Eakins the second coming of Scotty Bowman.Until he does something like say win his first NHL game!

Spydyr makes a good point. What if one/some/all of the fab 5 don't buy into Dallas' gameplan, you do have your head in the sand if you don't think it will be Eakins who falls on that sword. Where do all these puckers who don't know this, keep coming from.....darn kids.

Oh really, so if Hall does not buy in or Nuge or Yak they will be gone before the coach. Are you new to the NHL?

Oh really, i'm willing to bet that the very top end players, understanding that they are the players this team is depending on, will be more than mature about doing things the way their new coach tells them to do, don't you? oh wait, i guess you are new to the NHL and don't understand this, right?

Spydyr makes a good point. What if one/some/all of the fab 5 don't buy into Dallas' gameplan, you do have your head in the sand if you don't think it will be Eakins who falls on that sword. Where do all these puckers who don't know this, keep coming from.....darn kids.

They are all buying into the system , but they did for Kreuger and others as well . The problem lies in players inabilities to execute good enough for victories . Our defence still vulnerable as well as physical toughness as a group . Our depth is still wanting , and if that does not correct itself little will the overall results become more positive . We are making only miniscule progress so far as I see it - not enough to make us a contender unless something unforeseen happens before season starts - such as an acquisition or two outside current team . .

I'm sure they think they have a good reason(s), but I can't think what it would be.

This just works to drive fans away, frustrate their experience, stifle their enthusiasm... and it is just plain "old media" thinking. It's like we are being transported back to the days of suing Napster.

Oh and... all this does is shave advertising potential away from the NHL and drive up the market for piracy.

Does anyone know if the games are available on nhl gamecenter? Turns out I forgot to unsubscribe again and am locked in for the year. Might as well use it. The Calgary games were listed but didnt work.

McGrattan will play about 2:30, basically doing no more than cruising around like a great white shark. Eventually he'll get his staged fight from some sucker looking to make an NHL roster where he'll be given a double minor and a game misconduct.

While short-handed the fLames will get scored on three times, effectively ending any chance to win the game ten minutes into the first period.

Sound about right?

How does that hurt the Flames? They are in a lotto hunt and can keep their kids safe during a rebuild. Something we should've did.

"For many of the veterans it is another opportunity to sharpen their skills, while those on the bubble hope to impress Dallas Eakins, and for some it is likely their final preseason game.
"

My question is which category does Abney fall into? He has played 2 pro seasons and barely made it to the ECHL and a constant scratch. What does the management want to see that they haven't in the last 2 years? It'll be a miracle if he can even make it to the AHL. Should've been cut with the 1st group imo. The Oilers should've release him and save his roster spot to keep the right of Rajala.

Abney -- from draft pick to current camp -- is a mystery. Not sure who sees what.

But there is no reason to flush him while he's still on his ELC and trying to find his game...

I believe the Oilers retain Rajala's rights regardless. They don't even have to waste a roster spot or a spot on the 50 man list. Same goes for Hartikainen and Omark before.

This actually makes for an interesting incentive to have your "prospects" develop in Europe... of course, they may never come back, or ever develop.

In the Matty article I linked Howson says he didn't want to hang on to Rajala to clog up the 50 man list.

If the question is why Abney and not Rajala... you have to remember Abney isn't a MacT signing. It's a new regime. My guess is MacT probably doesn't sign Abney (maybe not Ewanyk either).

Also, looking at the Omark/Rajala situation, it seems MacT is willing to let players run, i.e., try for a spot on the Oil or find work elsewhere. I wonder if he would have released Omark a couple of years ago?

Neither Omark or Hartikainen or Abney are MacT's signing, but he choose to qualify Martikainen and agree to release Rajala.

I am interested to know if MacT would have released Omark a couple of year ago too because there is a lot of similarities between him and Rajala.

Neither of them have much chance in our top 6, but I believe Rajala has more trade value than Omark. He is only 22 but already light up the minors in his 1st year. Still has 2 year of ELC and 4 years of RFA left.

He asked to get out. It was mutual, both sides agreed. Simple. Nothing more to it. It makes sense. You don't want a player who doesn't want to be here, and Rajala was not close to being an NHL player, and most likely never will be.

The Oilers currently have 47 contracts, (I don't include Nurse or Khaira since when they go to junior they don't count towards 50), so the Oilers had no reason to just buyout Abney. They aren't at max of contracts.

Did they actually buy him out, or did they mutually agree to just terminate the contract? I don't mean to split hairs. I just want to know.

If you are a frequenter in the blog circuit, you'd already know that a ton of bright hockey minds were very high on Subban before Markov came back, in fact calling him Weber-esque based on his performance BEFORE his Norris season.

How do you figure Eakins will be gone? Why should he be gone? For one, it's pre-season, the team isn't even made up yet and in your view the players aren't buying in. That makes zero sense. Two, after 5 yrs and 6 coaches, maybe you have to realize it's not necessarily the coaches fault. Maybe the roster players should be looked at. Which falls on the GM, who has been in that position for a matter of months, and many players are gone with new ones in. Did MacT address every problem right away, no, but he damn sure tried. With the cap going down this year, it really handcuffed him.

Bottom line, saying Eakins will be gone in short order after 2 pre season games is plain stupid. Get your head out of the sand, Dallas is no daisy, like Renney and Krueger. The players will buy in or be gone before he is.

I never said the players aren't buying in. Of course it is way too early to tell. What I said was "Unless the players buy in Eakinis will be gone in short order also. "

Short order to me would be next summer .Like the last three coaches. They were going to make everything better too .Remember?

So you think they would trade Hall or Nuge or Yak before getting rid of Eakins."Get your head out of the sand."

As much as I always felt that Lowe had his hand on the throttle a lot tighter than was lead to believe, I really think that
the tandem of MacT, and especially Eakin, have
suggest to Lowe to stay in his office upstairs and enjoy polishing his rings." let us try it our way, because yours over the past years has not worked"

What spin? So just because I have a different view point than you I must be under some sort of influence or am blindy following someone else.

Also where did you get 2.3?

"By including all 30 teams in the NHL... During the 60 years covered in our study....This suggests that the average tenure for coaches was 3.54 seasons...."
http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/leadership/leadership-succession-what-can-we-learn-from-the-national-hockey-league#.UjnIpWXHSDc

"The average tenure of an NHL coach is 2.86 years in 2011."
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/the-nhl-coaching-landscape-then-and-now?urn=nhl,wp11270

NHL Teams Fire Coaches | saupulse.comsaupulse.com
www.saupulse.com/2011/12/08/nhl-teams-fire-coaches/‎
Dec 8, 2011 - These changes are not surprising, seeing as NHL coaches have an average tenure of 2.3 seasons behind the bench; this is the lowest average ...

NHL Teams Fire Coaches | saupulse.comsaupulse.com
www.saupulse.com/2011/12/08/nhl-teams-fire-coaches/‎
Dec 8, 2011 - These changes are not surprising, seeing as NHL coaches have an average tenure of 2.3 seasons behind the bench; this is the lowest average ...

What spin? So just because I have a different view point than you I must be under some sort of influence or am blindy following someone else.

Also where did you get 2.3?

"By including all 30 teams in the NHL... During the 60 years covered in our study....This suggests that the average tenure for coaches was 3.54 seasons...."
http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/leadership/leadership-succession-what-can-we-learn-from-the-national-hockey-league#.UjnIpWXHSDc

"The average tenure of an NHL coach is 2.86 years in 2011."
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/the-nhl-coaching-landscape-then-and-now?urn=nhl,wp11270

Coming from a person who called another person "retarded" for having a different opinion.

Unless you personally know Eakins "you are under some sort of influence or am blindly following someone else." Maybe not blindly that is your choice of words. The influence is:

Anything you have seen and heard about Eakins has influenced you. That is called spin.

Oh really, i'm willing to bet that the very top end players, understanding that they are the players this team is depending on, will be more than mature about doing things the way their new coach tells them to do, don't you? oh wait, i guess you are new to the NHL and don't understand this, right?